Conveyors



P. W. LONG April 28, 1964 CONVEYORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 20, 1962 INVENTOR BYPF-T'CEIC- WILSON LONG- 14 T TORNEYS April 28, 1964 P. w. LONG 3,130,829

CONVEYORS Filed March 20, 1962 5 Sheets-She et 2 INVENTOR 7 15 115k (4111.30 LON c;-

BY /MMQ W A TTORNE Y5 April 28, 1964 P. w. LONG 3,130,829

CONVEYORS Filed March 20, 1962 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 n u u u u u u u n |H Ul u n nu TL] m l I'III b M H H u 1min; .n u ILlI mm n uxu H H H ILUI Jll H H II H II ll [WWII ll I1 II I] INVENTOR 7 5751 6J1 LSON Lo N6 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,130,829 CONVEYORS Peter W. Long, Mobherley, Knutsford, England, assignor to Welded & Allied Products Limited, a company of Great Britain Filed Mar. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 181,019 4 Claims. (Cl. 193-35) This invention relates to conveyors. The invention is mostly concerned with non-powered conveyors but may be applied to powered conveyors in some cases.

An object of the invention is to provide a conveyor whereby a heavy load such as a case, crate, carton or palletised load can be moved easily over a surface and deposited in a given position on the surface.

According to the invention there is provided a conveyor unit comprising a rotatable element or elements and inflatable means for raising and lowering the said element or elements above and below a reference surface such as a floor or platform, whereby in the raised position of the element or elements articles can be conveyed thereover but in the lowered position the articles are immobile. Said elements may be rollers or captive balls, or wheels to engage track-like surfaces on the goods to be conveyed. Alternatively, the rising and falling structures may present a track surface to receive rotatable elements on the goods being conveyed.

In the preferred arrangements the said rotatable elements are rollers and will be referred to as such in the following description.

According to another feature of the invention an inflatable bag used for raising the lowering the said roller element or elements is enclosed within an outer casing or sheath comprising a length of flexible but inextensible tubular material, this usually (but not necessarily) being left open at the ends. An example of a suitable tubular material is ordinary canvas fire hose, of appropriate size, although other flexible tubes could be employed of a relatively wear-resistant nature.

According to a further feature of the invention instead of there being only one inflatable bag below each rollerconveyor structure there are two or more, either in sideby-side or end-to-end assembly, these being in mutual communication for simultaneous inflation and deflation and each being equipped with an outer protective cover or sheath as above defined. With this arrangement, and with conveyors for lighter loads, two or more inflatable bags at spaced points along the length of the conveyor could take the place of a single elongated bag.

In the preferred forms of the invention the rollers are carried at spaced points in a single channel-like member supported on the inflatable bag or bags. In some cases said member (or a tray which carries it) may have means ensuring that its rising and falling movements are always in parallel motion so as to ensure that a preponderance of weight of goods on one end of the conveyor would not, before the maximum lift has occurred, depress the bag at that end, and cause the other end of the conveyor to be lifted.

One useful form of the invention comprises an opentopped channel flanged over inwardly, a channel-sectioned tray the upstanding side flanges of which lie below the flanges of the said tray, a narrower but deeper channel in said tray with rollers mounted freely in it at spaced points along its length and an inflatable bag below said first-named channel, enclosed within an extensible sheath.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a part-sectional perspective view of one end of a conveyor in the retracted condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same end of the conveyor in the elevated condition;

, "ice FIG. 3 is a part-sectional side view of the conveyor, broken in the middle to avoid of too small a scale;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the conveyor shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 of a conveyor not having a cover for the inflatable bag, and in the retracted condition and arranged about the reference surface; Whilst FIG. 6 shows the conveyor of FIG. 5 in the elevated condition and arranged level with the reference surface; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan of a goods vehicle platform equipped with a number of the improved conveyors.

As shown, the conveyor comprises an outer metal casing which comprises an open-ended, elongated open-topped channel member 1, the side walls 2 of which are turned over inwardly as internal horizontal flanges 3 leaving a longitudinal gap 4 between them. At the ends of this channel member are U-shaped end plates 5, arranged edge on so that they embrace the ends of the channel 1 with their limbs bolted through to the side walls 2 of the channel by the bolts 6. The said channel 1 is apertured at 7 in the bottom, near one end, to allow the passage there through of an inflation tube 8 for the bag 9, and said aperture is bushed with a rubber or like resilient grommet 10.

Lying within the lower part of this channel is a length of tubular canvas hose 11, open at both ends, and forming a shield or cover for the inflatable rubber bag 9 within it. The bag 9 is substantially of the same length as the said cover 11, and is closed at its ends by outwardly-convex end caps 12. The bag 9 is provided at one side with the attached tubular extension or inflation tube 8 passing through the cover 11 and through the said grommet 10, this extension 8 being fitted interiorly with a more rigid tube 13 to receive a control valve or a conduit leading to such a valve. By means of the said cover 11 the inflatable bag 9 is more adequately protected against wear and possible damage and moreover is constrained to expand more uniformly along its length when being inflated.

Resting on the said cover is a longitudinal metal tray 14, flanged upwardly along its side edges these flanges lying below the said horizontal flanges 3 extending inwardly on the channel 1 so as, when the bag 9 is inflated, to contact the under side of the flanges 3 on the channel 1, thereby limiting the rising movement of the conveyor.

Bolted to the floor of this tray 14 is a similar but narrower tray 15, of a thicker material, carrying at spaced points in its side flanges, bearings 16 for a series of parallel rollers 17. This inner tray 15 with its rollers 17 is a proprietory article known by the registered trademark Rolarnat, the rollers being equipped with selflubricating bearings for free running without attention and the overall width of the assembly is less than the width of the gap 4 between the horizontal flanges 3 of the channel 1. Any other type of conveyor assembly may be used in place of that shown.

In operation the arrangement is such that when the bag 9 is deflated all the rollers 17 he wholly below the top level of the flanged outer casing or channel 1, and therefore any goods previously supported by the rollers now rest on the reference surface adjacent the channel. Upon inflation of the bag 9 the rollers 17 are raised so as to protrude out of the channel 1, between the said horizontal flanges 3, and thereby to lift the goods from the reference surface, and allow them to be moved lengthwise of the conveyor.

Conveyor units according to the invention can be arranged on the floor of a warehouse or the like, or on the floor of a goods-carrying vehicle as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 7. In such case the top of the flanges 3 is the said reference surface as in FIG. 5 Alternatively the units can be set into such a floor so that effectively the floor surface itself is the reference surface above and below which the rollers are projected and retracted, a load on being lowered by deflation of the bag resting on the floor surface as in FIG. 6.

Various arrangements of a series of conveyor units can be made on a floor area so that by inflation and deflation of individual conveyor units according to requirements, loading and unloading of articles to and from a given position on the floor area can be accomplished with ease.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show how, when the bag is fully inflated the flanges of the tray 14, by their contact with the inwardly-directed flanges 3 limit the upward movement of the rollers and also ensure a uniform elevation of the rollers along the whole length of the conveyor.

Although conveyor units have been described which comprise a series of small rollers having their axes at right angles to the upturned edges of the bed plate, it is also possible to provide a single roller having its axis parallel to the upturned edges. Also, as stated earlier the rollers may be replaced by balls, or a wheel and track arrangement may be used.

What I claim is:

1. A self contained and portable conveyor unit comprising an elongated flat base adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface, an elongated hollow member adapted to be inflated with fluid pressure mounted on said base and extending longitudinally thereof, an elongated rigid support extending generally parallel to said base and mounted on said elongated hollow member, a plurality of rollers longitudinally spaced above said support, means rotatably journalling said rollers on said support means, said means including an axis for each roller which extends laterally across said support and elongated hollow member, a pair of vertical side walls each integrally secured at its bottom edge to a side of said base, a pair of spaced top flanges parallel to said base, each top flange extending substantially the full length of the unit and secured to the top of each side wall, said top flanges projecting inwardly towards said rollers, the space between the top flanges being of greater width than the length of said rollers whereby said rollers may be forced upwardly between said top flanges by said hollow elongated member when it is inflated, and stop means secured to said support and adapted to engage said top flanges to limit vertical upward movement of said rollers, said top flanges serving as seals to prevent foreign matter from passing between the stop means and side walls.

2. A conveyor as defined in claim 1 wherein said stop means includes an elongated channel comprising a plate mounted between said support and said elongated hollow member, said plate having side edges, a vertical stop flange directly below each of said top flanges and each stop flange secured to one of said side edges, said stop flange extending upwardly and terminating intermediate the upper and lower limits of said rollers so that said stop flanges may contact said top flange and permit only a portion of each of said rollers to project above said top flanges.

3. A conveyor as defined in claim 2, wherein said stop flanges are closely adjacent said side walls to limit lateral deflection of said elongated hollow member, said support comprising a U-shaped channel member internested in and secured to said elongated channel, said channel member including parallel side flanges extending above said stop flanges, the means for journalling said rollers comprising a plurality of pivot pins above said stop flanges and the pivot pins having ends connected to said parallel side flanges, said side flanges being spaced apart slightly less than said top flanges are spaced apart whereby said side flanges may be moved between said top flanges before said stop flanges engage said top flanges.

4. A conveyor as defined in claim 3, including a tubular canvas sheath open at its ends and snugly enclosing said elongated hollow member, and a U-shaped member connected between each pair of adjacent ends of said walls so as to enclose the ends of said elongated hollow member and sheath.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,973,073 Elliott Feb. 28, 1961 3,011,665 Wise Dec. 5, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,832 France Mar. 10, 1921 (6th addition to No. 521,750) 521,750 France Mar. 14, 1921 

1. A SELF CONTAINED AND PORTABLE CONVEYOR UNIT COMPRISING AN ELONGATED FLAT BASE ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A HORIZONTAL SURFACE, AN ELONGATED HOLLOW MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE INFLATED WITH FLUID PRESSURE MOUNTED ON SAID BASE AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF, AN ELONGATED RIGID SUPPORT EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID BASE AND MOUNTED ON SAID ELONGATED HOLLOW MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS LONGITUDINALLY SPACED ABOVE SAID SUPPORT, MEANS ROTATABLY JOURNALLING SAID ROLLERS ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS, SAID MEANS INCLUDING AN AXIS FOR EACH ROLLER WHICH EXTENDS LATERALLY ACROSS SAID SUPPORT AND ELONGATED HOLLOW MEMBER, A PAIR OF VERTICAL SIDE WALLS EACH INTEGRALLY SECURED AT ITS BOTTOM EDGE TO A SIDE OF SAID BASE, A PAIR OF SPACED TOP FLANGES PARALLEL TO SAID BASE, EACH TOP FLANGE EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL LENGTH OF THE UNIT AND SECURED TO THE TOP OF EACH SIDE WALL, SAID TOP FLANGES PROJECTING INWARDLY TOWARDS SAID ROLLERS, THE SPACE BETWEEN THE TOP FLANGES BEING OF GREATER WIDTH THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID ROLLERS WHEREBY SAID ROLLERS MAY BE FORCED UPWARDLY BETWEEN SAID TOP FLANGES BY SAID HOLLOW ELONGATED MEMBER WHEN IT IS INFLATED, AND STOP MEANS SECURED TO SAID SUPPORT AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID TOP FLANGES TO LIMIT VERTICAL UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID ROLLERS, SAID TOP FLANGES SERVING AS SEALS TO PREVENT FOREIGN MATTER FROM PASSING BETWEEN THE STOP MEANS AND SIDE WALLS. 